Chosen One
by EMP1997
Summary: Ester is just a normal girl who lives with her family and has dreams of going to university. One demon attack later, and she is thrown into a world of Winchesters, angles and demons- and also one hell of a buried secret. The story will pick up and more of our beloved characters will make an appearance. (I didn't really expect the first chapter to be so long.)
1. Chapter 1

Stumbling over tree roots and low lying flora, Ester sprinted through the forest. Heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, she slipped on the damp mud, rolled and came back up, trying to not lose too many seconds. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or even who the relentless footsteps behind her belonged to. The rows of trees were staring to come to an end and Ester could make out a small town just after the clearing. If she could get among people then maybe she could disappear amongst the crowd, at the very least it would surely prevent her attackers from doing anything to her if there were witnesses. Exhausted, the only think that pushed her onward was the feeling of terror in her stomach.

The image of her family lying dead in a pool of blood and people with black eyes standing over them was burnt into her mind, so she used it as fuel to keep her moving. Terrified, she'd run from the scene and up the stairs, barricading herself within her bedroom. It didn't last long though. Two stories up and trapped by her attackers, her only option was to jump. Ester knew that it wouldn't end well- if she was lucky she'd only break an ankle, but it would likely be worse. Still it had to be better than waiting for her assailants to break the door down. With a quick prayer, Ester climbed out of the window and jumped. She closed her eyes, felt the wind rush past her as she fell and waited for the inevitable impact. It didn't come. Instead she felt herself slowing but still landed heavily, stumbling on to the ground. The dirt ground. Ester snapped her eyes opened and looked around. She was no longer outside her house but in a forest. She didn't recognise it as being near home- in fact she doubted it was even England. What the hell was going on? Starting to shake as the adrenaline in her system began to where off, Ester picked herself of the ground, picked a direction and started walking. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she heard a rustling behind her. Snapping her head round she caught sight of one of the men from the house. She didn't have time to ask questions or even begin to formulate them. She just bolted.

Lungs burning, Ester entered the town and ran down the main road. The place was deserted. Ester knew that she desperately needed to find people, preferably the police, so she could shelter from the attackers. She could feel herself panicking- it was too much. Running for her life, her family dead, the frozen look of horror etched on her sister's pale face as she lay dead on the carpet. With a snap decision, Ester took a sharp left and ran straight down a blocked ally. Cursing she turned back on herself, only to nearly run right into two of the men. Skidding to a halt, Ester made a quick turn on her heal hoping she could scale the wall at the other end. Standing there was a women with black eyes. How had she managed to get there? Breathing hard, Ester found it difficult to get any words out but she tried. "Who the fuck are you?" she choked out. "What do you want?" The women's face broke into a grin.

"Well I thought that was fairly self-explanatory" she replied sarcastically, walking towards Ester. The women had a Welsh accent. A quick glance behind told her that the two men were edging forward as well. "We know what you are, abomination. Please don't insult our intelligence by pretending you don't." Ester's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Fine, be that way. We'll still leave our message to the God squad though."

Suddenly, a heel connected with her solar plexus and Ester was sent flying into the awaiting arms of the two men. Coughing and spluttering they brought her to her knees and secured her wrists behind her with handcuffs. The women's eyes turned black and she smirked. "Really, that it. I was expecting much more from a being as powerful as you."

"I don't understand you. I don't know what you mean." Ester replied as earnestly as she could. All she was met with was a roll of eyes and a backhand against the face. Panic. That was all Ester could feel now. She was lost alone and in the hands of some psychopaths with a fetish for black eyes. She didn't know what to do. Ester pulled her head back up and stared at her attacker with as much defiance and anger as she could muster. "Let's see how long you can keep that face up when we get to work," the women said as she pulled a long silver blade from her inside coat pocket. Ester was determined to keep her resolve and not show fear in front of her adversaries, and she did- up until the blade was plunged into her shoulder.

Ester didn't know how long their 'work' lasted for, but it seemed like hours. The female clearly liked to just inflict as much pain as possible, stabbing Ester repeatedly- in the chest, through her leg, into her hands- and when she got bored of that, she just kicked the shit out of her captive. A cascade of boot caps hit Ester, breaking ribs, knocking out teeth and even fracturing her skull. The pain just became one agonising blur and Ester willed herself to just pass out, but she was not given such mercy. One of the men took a different approach. He favoured slicing her skin with the edge and tip of the blade, drawing patterns and symbols into her flesh until it felt like it was on fire. She had stopped sobbing a while ago, her body too exhausted to continue screaming and crying. Nor did she shout out when every new blow or wound came. Suddenly, Ester began to feel something rise within her and she let it out with a feral scream. She noticed the shock register on the three faces as they scrambled to get out of there. Then there was a bright light and the smell of burning flesh. Ester just lay on the asphalt shaking until the pain overcame her and she passed out.

Crying out, Ester woke up lying on her back and the pain quickly consumed her again. Her eyes refused to focus and her whole body trembled. Why wasn't she dead? Right now it was all she really wanted. She was vaguely aware of the blade plunged into her stomach- a parting gift from the monsters that had attacked her. One half-hearted attempt to move later and Ester screamed, screwing her eyes up from the pain. She became absently aware that part of her mind was calling out to someone. It didn't really feel like her doing it at all but she was just too tired to care. There was a sound from the mouth of the ally- like wings flapping or a sudden gust of wind- and then footsteps as someone approached. Ester could just about turn her head and with her concussed mind she made out a figure with dark hair in a suit and trench coat. He moved towards her and she flinched heavily. "It's okay. I mean you no harm," he said softly in a deep voice. "Please let me help you." Ester gave the briefest of nods- something about him seemed familiar. The man knelt beside her and took her face gently in his hands. The gentle touch told Ester she was safe and presently passed out again in the strangers arms.


	2. Into the bunker

Castiel felt a heavy tug at his grace and he immediately took off. He roamed, homing in on a small town in Texas when he realised that he vaguely recognised whoever was calling at him. Landing at the opening of an alley, the angel could just make out a figure lying at the end of the road. Cautiously, he started moving towards them, worry growing as he noticed the sheer amount of blood pooling on the floor. The figure he realised was a teenage girl, no older than 16 or 17, bloody and bruised and left with an angel blade embedded in her chest. Castiel didn't understand how the girl was breathing, let alone conscious. To the side of her, slumped against the wall, was a body with burnt out eyes- he didn't need to look at it long to figure out it was a recently smited demon. She was clearly terrified but Cas managed to reassure her enough to approach the young human. Cradling her face, the angel quickly assessed the girl as her eyes rolled back into her head. Thinking that he could do more to help at the Winchester's bunker, Castiel scooped the abused teenager into his arms and took off.

Arriving in the brightly lit main room of the bunker, Castiel was met by two confussed and slightly pissed faces. "Cas, what the hell?" Dean demanded. "You don't just fly off mid conversation…"

"I apologise Dean but I had more pressing issues to deal with," Cas interrupted with a growl, nodding to the unconscious form in his arms.

"What the hell happened?" Sam started but the angel once again cut him off.

"Can I use one of the bedrooms?" Castiel asked, striding forward without waiting for a reply.

"Yeah of course. You can use mine," the younger Winchester replied, knowing how protective Dean was of his own room. Cas entered the room and gently lowered the injured girl on to the immaculately made bed. The two brothers loitered in the doorway, looking on from afar and giving him some pace. They could tell he was worried. Wrapping his hand around the blade, he yanked it from the teen's chest and immediately rested his free hand on the girl's forehead, pouring his grace into her. Castiel healed what he could. He repaired the gapping holes left by the blade, he knitted bones back together and fussed her skull back into place, removing the swelling to her brain as he did so. The only thing he couldn't mend were the delicate cuts that formed symbols over her skin. Every time Castile's grace went near it, some force deflected it. Cas felt his stomach drop. He knew the only way he could heal her but it would be almost unbearable for her. Stroking the hair from her face, Castiel came to the realisation that for some unknown reason, he really cared for the young human.

Exiting the bedroom, Castiel went to join the brothers who were sat at the table in the other room. "How is she?" Sam asked, noticing the angel coming to join them.

"Better, I think. I've healed as much as I can." Cas replied, looking tired.

"As much as you can?" Dean questioned.

"It seems that whatever happened to her involved carving symbols on to her skin, but they have been tainted so my grace can't heal them. The only way I can fix it is if she's conscious and gives me permission- I need to access her soul to give me the extra power.

"Won't that be painful?" the younger Winchester asked. Cas simply nodded.

"What exactly did happen Cas?" It was Dean who addressed him.

"I… I don't know," Castiel admitted. "Most likely a demon attack- the wounds were tainted with the reek of hell. I just don't understand how she survived at all with that much damage."

"Well there's one way to find out. We wake her up and talk to her," Dean interjected.

"No Dean!" Cas barked. "She needs to rest." The brothers shared a look but seemed to accept what the angel said. "There's something else. Beside the girl there was a demon with its eyes burnt out."

"What, so an angel turned up to smite a demon but left the injured girl to die in her own blood?" Dean asked sceptically.

"Maybe said angel only had enough juice to kill the demon and prevent her from dying without actually healing the wounds?" Sam theorised. The two Winchesters both looked at Cas for a response.

"No I would have felt another angel's grace if that had been the case. Except…" He was met with narrowed eyed stairs. Cas signed. "One of the reasons I took off so quickly was because something about the call felt familiar, but I didn't know who it was or understand why it did." Before either of the boys could respond Castiel muttered something about checking on the teenager and walked of in the direction of Sam's bedroom.

"Well something's definitely ruffled his feathers," Dean stated as soon as the angle was out of earshot.


	3. A Long Story

Ester felt herself slowly returning to consciousness. Her head felt woozy and her mind muddled so she kept her eyes shut, trying to let herself adjust. Realising how she got in this state and remembering the events that had unfolded, she braced herself for the oncoming pain. It didn't come. Strange- what pain meds was she doped up on? As sensation slowly returned to Ester she became aware of a hand holding her right one. A thumb was gently stroking back and forth over her knuckles. Even in her confused state, Ester could tell that was odd. As far as she could remember the only people who cared enough to do that were dead. A sliver of hope grew in her chest- maybe things hadn't actually gone the way she perceived them. Groaning, she forced her eyes open and winced at the bright light in the room. She trailed her gaze up from her entwined hand, along the other persons arm until her eyes found theirs. They belonged to a man (probably in his thirties) with a handsome face, which currently had concern etched all over it. It took her a few seconds to realise it was the same man who had found her in the alley, clearly he had stuck to his promise of helping her. She was alive and the pain was gone, but Ester realised that she was not in a hospital room as she had presumed- this would have panicked her if she wasn't too exhausted to care.

"Please do not be alarmed," the man said softly, continuing to hold her hand. "I promise that you are safe now. What is your name?"

"E…Ester," she said hesitantly. "Who are you? What the hell happened?"

"Ester, meaning star. It is nice to finally meet you properly. As for what happened, that is rather complicated… as is who I am." The girl inclined her head slightly in an invitation for him to carry on talking. "My name is Castiel and I'm an angel of the lord." Ester waited for the punchline of the joke or for the man to start laughing. When it became apparent that neither was going to happen she felt a flicker of panic run down her spine.

"I'm not a child…"

"I never insinuated that you were, but you need to believe me and trust that I am who I say I am.

Fantastic, Ester thought, I get attacked by a group of lunatics just to be saved my some religious nutjob. "Bullshit!" she yelled, attempting to sit upright. "Angel's don't exist."

"Yes Ester they do." Castiel spoke more forcefully now, not angry, frustrated more than anything. "Here let me show you." He stood from the chair positioned beside the bed and stepped directly in front of her. Then the light began to spark and flicker and Ester saw the shadows of wings projected onto the wall behind Castiel. Trembling, Ester scurried to the top of the bed, trying to put as much distance between the two of them. She mentally cursed herself with as many profanities as she could think off. Being pursued by psychopaths with back eyes was one thing, but pissing an angel of was a whole new level of terrifying. Seeing her distress, Castiel moved forward and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, noticing how much she flinched when he did so. The teenager suddenly found a loose thread on her sleeve to be very interesting- she could feel the angel's intense stare on her. "Ester, look at me," Cas said gently. "Look at me." Slowly, the girl turned her face and deep brown eyes met the angel's blue ones. "Please understand this: you are safe and I will not hurt you. I'm not angry at your outburst- in fact your reaction was perfectly normal. In the past people have shot and stabbed me when I've met them for the first time," Castiel explained with a small smile, remembering his first encounter with Dean.

"You're an angel?" Cas nodded and took a seat on the bed next to Ester. "You're an Angel of God." Cas nodded again reassuringly. "What are you doing here? Did you find me just because I was in trouble?"

"Again it is complicated but I can try to explain." This time it was Ester's turn to nod. Suddenly though, the door burst open and two men rushed into the room.

"What's going on?" Dean announced. "We heard yelling, what's wrong?" Instinctively, Ester had grabbed hold of Castiel at the intrusion and found herself practically using him as a shield. Realising this, Ester moved in view of the two newcomers but kept her hand on the angel's back. Cas gave her a reassuring look. "It's okay. These are my friends Sam and Dean and you can trust them." He then turned to address the shorter of the men: "My apologies Dean. I had some trouble convincing Ester here of what I really am."

"Well yeah, that kind of figures." This time it was the taller man that spoke. He walked over and stretched out his hand. "Nice to meet you Ester. My name's Sam, that over there's my brother Dean," he said, nodding to the guy brooding in the corner of the room with his arms folded across his chest. Ester couldn't help but feel like the brothers were doing some good-cop, bad-cop stint like from a bad cop show. "We want to help you," Sam added. Yep, definitely procedural cop show- at least there were no sunglasses. "Ester, we know it's going to be difficult, but we need to know what happened to put you in the state that Cas found you in. Can you do that?" The teenager gave the barest of nods. The hand that was still on her shoulder ran down her arm and interlocked it with hers. For the second time today, the brothers shared a puzzled look. "I don't know who they were or why they did it," Ester began and if her English accent was a surprise for the boys, they didn't question it.

"Who's they exactly?" Dean questioned.

"The people who attacked me and killed my family."

Ester recounted the entire story to them. She explained that she'd gone down stairs after hearing a commotion to find her family lying dead on the floor. Her eyes began to sting and tears threatened to fall but she blinked them away. She would not cry in front of these men she'd just met- it was stupid, she knew she had nothing to prove to them, but she still wanted to appear strong. Cas interrupted her when she told them that the attackers seemed to have black eyes. "Demons," he growled in his deep voice, but with a look from Sam, Ester was allowed to continue. However, when she described jumping out of the window and ending up in some woodland, all three men were perplexed.

"Cas, where d'you find Ester?" Dean asked.

"Texas," he replied bluntly.

"So you jumped out of your bedroom window and magically found yourself in America? This story is getting weirder by the minute, I don't like it."

"Try living it," Ester mumbled. Taking a deep breath she continued to tell them of the chase through the woods and the subsequent attack. Throughout it all, the adolescent mainly kept her eyes fixed on her knees that she had tucked up in front of her, and she would have to take a second every now and then when her voice shook too much. When she had finished, Ester turned to look at Castiel who had wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. For some reason, she found his touch calming but she just put it down to some angel ability of sorts.

"Well done," he whispered to her. Uncomfortable at being scrutinized for so long, Ester began fidgeting and rolling up her sleeves in a nervous habit. And that's when she saw it. The intricate symbols that had been carved into her were still in place on her arms. Without the pain or gaping wounds and because her clothes were no longer damaged, she'd assumed that these had been fixed as well. "What the hell are these?" Ester demanded, her eyes darting between the three men present in the room. She felt a sudden anger flare in her chest. "I told you what happened and I want to know why it happened and why my family got butchered!"

"Of course you do," Cas murmured sympathetically. "I'll try my best to answer your questions."


End file.
